Here is a pick of albums of 2016 so far by rock artists who have been trawling their vaults to discover previously unreleased music as good as their best. Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and more have been unearthing gems which will mostly delight fans, sometimes rewrite rock history and in a few cases cost a serious amount of money to buy.Later in the year, we get a new “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” by the Beatles, an expanded “BBC Sessions” by Led Zeppelin and a mammoth Pink Floyd box set, a $700 monster with hours of new material from the band’s early years. While waiting for this trio by British bands, there are already are a lot of excellent rereleases in the first seven months to enjoy.While a classic album usually has its track listening set in stone, telling the official story of the final product, more now come with extra material added in. While there is usually a reason for a song being left off, it is increasingly clear that some decisions were based on flawed commercial thinking or a shortage of time on vinyl which is no longer a problem. Hence the vogue for bigger box sets.1: Bruce Springsteen, “The Ties That Bind: ‘The River’ Collection” (Columbia)Springsteen has been scouring his 1970s archive to great effect. After finding impressive material for “Tracks” and then for “The Promise: ‘The Darkness on the Edge of Town’ Story,” he now mines the sessions that resulted in the 1980 double album “The River.”We hear how a planned 10-track album grew into a double LP as his band endlessly worked in the studio, often putting light-hearted songs like “Ramrod” or “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” alongside deadly-serious numbers like “Point Blank” and “Drive All Night,” with its improbable chorus “I swear I’ll drive all night just to buy you some shoes.”If only there had been more space in 1980 we might have got to hear “Meet Me in the City,” a worthy single, much earlier. We do now - and it is worth the wait. While this box set was officially released in very late 2015, The Boss has been touring in support of this throughout 2016 when many sales came through. Who cares when the music is 35 years old and still sounds really fresh?2: Van Morrison, “It’s Too Late to Stop Now (Volumes II, III & IV and DVD)” (Sony)The 1974 double album has long been acclaimed as one of the finest live releases. Its expansion now is as extensive as, say, that given to the Allman Brothers’ “Live at Fillmore East,” which has also grown in each reincarnation.What makes the Northern Irishman’s set all the more impressive, though, is that the new material adds so many extra song titles; such was the size of his repertoire with the Caledonian Soul Orchestra. We get everything from early songs like “Gloria” and “Brown Eyed Girl” to the long flowing classics such as “Madam George.” Morrison covers random soul by Sam Cooke and blues by Willie Dixon as if anything is possible. He simply loses himself in vocal improvisations for “Caravan,” “Listen to the Lion” and “Cyprus Avenue.”3: David Bowie, “Bowie at the Beeb” (Parlophone/ BBC)After the untimely death of David Bowie, most of his back catalogue came back into print. Most was still readily available, though this set of BBC sessions was getting hard to find.There is a 2 CD set of these tapes dating from 1968-1972, and a limited-edition 3 CD version that adds a much later concert from 2000. The latter is inexplicably not reissued and now is only seen at premium prices of $100 or more. Still, collectors have been well satisfied by a new set on 180-gram vinyl which features for the first time one of Bowie’s most-fabled performances, long assumed lost: “The Supermen,” which was recorded for a “Sounds of the 70s” show.The first two discs provide studio recreations of some of the finest material on the best albums, often sounding stripped down and refreshingly different from the all-too-familiar versions. The acoustic “Kooks,” “Changes,” and “Oh! You Pretty Things” are fey and charming - completely understated.4: Ryan Adams, “Heartbreaker Deluxe Edition)” (UMC)Ryan Adams - not to be confused with the similarly-named Bryan Adams - started his solo career as one of the most prolific of artists.“Heartbreaker” was a fine opener in 2000 and “Gold” the following year was even better.The alt-country flavor of Adams’s previous band Whiskeytown remained, but he seemed freer, off the leash, throwing in spoken sections and folk-rock like mid-period Dylan or Nick Drake. He starts with an argument about Morrissey and the outtakes include a cover of Morrissey’s “Hairdresser on Fire.” Perhaps the best track, “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” now appears in three versions, showing how Adams decided on its final direction.5: Terry Allen, “Juarez” (Sugar Hill)While this 1975 album won plaudits at the time, it hasn’t had the enduring staying power on critics’ best-of lists of, say, “Forever Changes” by Love or “Grace” by Jeff Buckley.This year’s reissue puts it together at last with the artwork which was a crucial part of the LP package. Allen’s album tells a complex road story of two travelling couples heading to Colorado from California and his pictures complete the story. Allen, who is now best known for his visual art and sculpture, is like a country-tinged Tom Waits, a laid-back Warren Zevon, or a knowing Jim Carroll. Here are spoken tracks, an instrumental and plenty of revelations as the couples’ paths cross with deadly consequences.6: Various artists, “Close to the Noise Floor” (Cherry Red Records)Here is something totally different to finish this roundup.This is more than four hours of music, spread over 4 discs for those who prefer CDs. Many buyers probably will go for the physical version because this is a retro set, as can be seen by its subtitle, “Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984.”Very weird and wonderful music it sometimes is too. The best example is a cover of Rod Stewart’s “D’Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” by British Standard Unit, which sounds nothing like the original and is hilariously fractured.So you think you know this seminal era of British electronica? Never mind Ultravox, Human League, Depeche Mode or whoever, there are a lot of names on this compilation to broaden your horizons.Click on the slideshow for more on the albums.
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